House of Seafood Restaurant in Punggol Takes Crabs out for Walks
Wagyu beef treatment or animal abuse?
BY: JOLENE TEO
(Not) An Art Hoe
All images via House of Seafood and photobash by Singaplex
House of Seafood Restaurant in Punggol has taken quirky measures to ensure their crabs are the meatiest before cooking them into your favourite zichar dish. A Facebook post by the House of Seafood on June 18, showed photos of the crabs taking a walk at the park near the restaurant while tied to a leash.
House of Seafood said the crabs are not pets, but meant to be for sale as food for customers and they are taken on walks so that crabs do not get atrophy. The Facebook post reads:
The photos showed both adults and children walking the crabs which invited curious onlookers and joined by other dog walkers, some of them even posing for photos with the strange group. The evening stroll for the crabs was allegedly around 6pm when there was no strong sunlight for about five minutes.
The incident of course invited backlash and several angry comments from the public accusing the restaurant of cruelty and animal abuse. There were also comments as to how it was the wrong way to educate children, how crabs are not pets, and to not play with your food. There were many comments about how this was a bad marketing tactic as well.
Restaurant owner Francis Ng has responded to the comments by stating that it was not his intention to torture the crabs, and it was not a publicity stunt as he wanted to help the crabs get “exercise” since they just sit in cages in entire day. He also apologised for offending animal lovers and activists, stating that it was a joke. The Facebook post of the crabs’ evening walk has also since been taken down.
The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) have conducted a joint visit to the restaurant earlier today on June 22. The Animal & Veterinary Service, a cluster of the National Parks Board, is reviewing the current guidelines with Acres and SPCA.
This is not the first time the House of Seafood has gone viral for all the wrong reasons, as they previously hit the headlines for terrible marketing tactics with a live crab claw machine in 2019. For $5 per play, if the visitor manages to catch a crab via the machine the restaurant will cook it for free.
While Ng tried to ensure the tank was designed to minimise pain for the crab and the activity was meant to educate children to release the crab into the ocean, it all sounded contradictory and the public was not convinced. He finally made a video of a 30 second bow with 3 of his staff to apologise for the incident. They were once again faced with backlash last year when they allegedly sold overpriced surgical masks to visitors to try to profit off the pandemic.
Those who want follow up with this crabby drama, Francis Ng will be hosting a press release addressing all the concerns of the public and media at 8pm, June 22 via House of Seafood’s Facebook live stream.
JOLENE TEO | (Not) An Art Hoe
Jolene Teo is a contemporary and modern art enthusiast, writer, curator, and cultural researcher. She enjoys exploring the areas inbetween art, design, critical narratives, pop culture, and the cult of collecting. She is socially awkward but will talk to you about plants, art, anime, and life. Some part of her still wishes she can become an artist one day. Send her memes @joteo_
